The Walking Dead Comic Book Reading Order & Timeline (2024)

I couldn’t have predicted The Walking Dead would become the most popular television series in the world, but the first time I picked up a Walking Dead comic, I knew I was reading something special.

The first 48 issues of the Walking Dead comic are near perfect apocalyptic storytelling, taking the zombie genre and injecting it with the human heart, greed, and animalistic urges at the center of us all. Creators Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore (and shortly thereafter, Charlie Adlard) created a zombie infested universe that I couldn’t forget, and here we are years later, and it’s the most successful Comic Book TV adaptation ever.

There’s a reason it’s one of my favorite 40 comics of all time.

Fortunately, figuring out where to start with Walking Dead comics is nowhere near as difficult as superhero universes like Marvel or DC Comics. While writer Robert Kirkman’sotherall-time great comic book, Invincible, has featured a series of spin-offs, Walking Dead has remained largely insular.

There are a handful of exceptions, but for the most part, reading the Walking Dead comes down to personal preference and thetypeof reading experience you’d like to have. Below you’ll find all your options, and the appropriate order for each.

Support For Comic Book Herald:

Comic Book Herald is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a qualifying affiliate commission.

Comic Book Herald’s reading orders and guides are also made possible by reader support on Patreon, and generous reader donations.

Any size contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. SupportCBH on Patreonfor exclusive rewards, or Donate here!Thank you for reading!

Updates 4/20/21 by Peyi Olugbodi!

Where To Start With The Walking Dead

Walking Dead Compendiums (Graphic Novels)

The Walking Dead Compendium editions areenormouscollections of over 40 comic book issues all in one book.

The crazy/amazing thing about the Compendiums is that they blend all the issues together into one story, with no comic book covers separating each issue/chapter. As a result you essentially have a 1,000 page graphic novel in your hands. As I’ve found while staring at 2:00 a.m. blinking on the clock, good luck putting one of these down.

This is the easiest, fastest, and frequently most affordable way to read the entirety of the Walking Dead saga to date. Although they’re more affordable than individual trades

(usually about 6 issues at a time), each Compendium only runs between $30 to $40. Again, that’s less than a dollar per issue, which in the comic book world is an absolute steal.

1)The Walking Dead: Compendium One

Collects:The Walking Dead #1 to #48

The closest The Walking Dead comes to spin-offs are in the form of some expanded universe novels. The most prominent of these can be read in the wake of The Walking Dead #48 (I would highly recommend you complete the first compendium before moving to the novels). Youdo notneed to read the novels to understand what is happening in the comic book series, they just offer additional stories.

Novels —The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor and the Road to Woodbury

Novels —The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor: Parts 1 and 2

2)The Walking Dead: Compendium Two

Collects:The Walking Dead #49 to #96

3)The Walking Dead: Compendium Three

Collects:The Walking Dead #97 to #144

4) The Walking Dead Compendium Four

Collects: The Walking Dead #145 to #193

The Walking Dead Trade Paperbacks

If you want to start a little smaller, or simply in more manageable chunks (those compendiums aren’t exactly easy to read on a commute, for example), the Walking Dead TPBs (trade paperbacks) are your best best.

Most TPBs can be found for around $10 (or less than $5 if you’re willing to buy used). They typically contain six issues of the series at a time, which can typically be read in around an hour or less.

You can also read the first 10 volumes ofWalking Deadfor free with a Comixology Unlimited subscription.

Walking Dead vol 1: Days Gone By

Collects: The Walking Dead #1-6

Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore- 12 May 2004

Walking Dead vol 2: Miles Behind Us

Collects: The Walking Dead #7–12

Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn- 24 November 2004

Walking Dead vol 3: Safety Behind Bars

Heroically Support Comic Book Herald!

If you like Comic Book Herald, and are able to donate, any small contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Donate here! Or, supportCBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards! Or you can even check out the CBH Merch store and get something nice with a small portion benefiting the site! Thank you for reading!

The Walking Dead Comic Book Reading Order & Timeline (2024)

FAQs

How to read The Walking Dead comics in chronological order? ›

Publication Order of Walking Dead Graphic Novels

Days Gone Bye. (2004) Description / Buy at Amazon.com. ...
Miles Behind Us. (2004) ...
Safety Behind Bars. (2005) ...
The Heart's Desire. (2005) ...
The Best Defense. (2006) ...
This Sorrowful Life. (2007) ...
The Calm Before. (2007) ...
Made to Suffer. (2008)

More items...

Read The Full Story ›

How many volumes of The Walking Dead comic books are there? ›

How Many Volumes of The Walking Dead Comics Are There? Since the comic books started in 2003, there have been 193 comics issued in the entire series. Of this original series, there were 32 volumes of The Walking Dead released. Each volume roughly contains a story arc of six comic issues.

Why did The Walking Dead deviate from the comics? ›

During a panel, he revealed that he wanted the TV version of his comics creation to deviate from the source material as much as possible. “With Walking Dead, I was much younger and much more reckless,” Kirkman said. “I was an absolute lunatic. I would get in the writers' room and be like, 'Kill Rick Grimes today!